TPI donates 1,200 N95 masks to Park Centre

Shannon Minshall looked as if he won the lottery. And, in a way, he did.

The executive director of Park Centre was speechless Monday morning when he saw the donation list of personal protective equipment from the TPI Composites Newton plant: 725 disposable coveralls with hoods, 720 disposable cleanroom pants, 105 face shields and 1,200 of the highly sought-after N95 face masks.

“Holy crap!” Minshall finally exclaimed. “That just made ... I’m just ... Wow!”

Josh Syhlman, general manager of TPI Iowa, said the wind blade manufacturing plant was contacted last week by a WesleyLife employee about possibly donating PPE to the senior care and nursing staff. Syhlman and EHS manager Ryan Hoenicke delivered the shipment to Park Centre.

“I’m just the lucky one that gets to deliver it,” Syhlman said. “That was pretty awesome to be able to do that.”

Equipment arrived to the Newton-based retirement community in boxes fastened to wooden pallets on a flatbed trailer. Staff promptly unloaded TPI’s donation and stashed boxes away in their nearby facility. The newly acquired stockpile of N95 masks, in particular, was extremely important to Park Centre staff.

“A gift like this is just absolutely amazing,” Minshall said. “We’ve been wearing masks now for a couple weeks. Our residents, if you walk around, you’ll see they’re wearing masks. That’s been a huge culture switch for us.”

Yet, it is an essential practice in a place like Park Centre where there are likely several residents considered a higher risk at contracting severe illnesses. Keeping staff and residents safe with the use of PPE — along with other preventative measures — helps mitigate the chances of exposure.

Park Centre treats a total of about 177 people among its communities, and employs roughly 120 staff members.

Minshall reports to numerous state agencies and WesleyLife offices every day to relay information regarding Park Centre’s equipment supplies. If a sister community needs more supplies, Minshall said it is common for other WesleyLife entities to shift equipment stocks until another shipment arrives.

Even though Park Centre has adapted to social distancing requirements, the looming concern of a depleted inventory of PPE is very real to staff. However, housekeeping director Sheree Esqueda said the donation from TPI will help ease the worries of both employees and residents, especially when a nationwide PPE shortage has forced Esqueda to spend nearly every morning browsing the internet for equipment sales on websites like eBay and Amazon. Disposable masks and gowns are in high demand, which — combined with the widespread shortage — makes ordering very difficult.

"We don't have anybody infected, but if the time comes they're just as worried that we don't have it," Esqueda said. "So with this, we can reassure all the staff that we have what we need. It is kind of emotional because we worked so hard the last month-and-a-half to get just the bare minimums."

Orders may not even guarantee a full count, either. Carrie Good, a restorative aide and ordering coordinator for the nursing floor of Park Centre, said sometimes one-fourth of the equipment may arrive, which added even more uncertainty for staff.

“So this is a big relief for us,” Good said.

Esqueda said TPI’s donation was a “true blessing,” a weight off staff’s shoulders.

“(There were) a lot of sleepless nights,” Esqueda recalled.

Now, staff — and Esqueda — can rest easy.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com